Chapter 93 : The Ghosts’ Real Identity (part 1)
I was witnessing something unbelievable…
The appearance of the ghost who was sitting next to Cecil gradually became clearer, and it turned out to be an adult woman. A beautiful woman who was closing her eyes and praying seriously.
Her face, clothes and body were faintly transparent, making it obvious that she wasn’t a living being.
Actually, she wasn’t the only ghost that appeared here. After a moment, a number of vague hazes appeared, and just like the woman ghost, the hazes gradually became the shape of human beings.
There was an old man sitting on a long chair, looking straight ahead with a blank expression; a priest preaching at the altar; a man, who seemed to be a merchant, bringing flowers into the church; a mother trying to comfort her baby who was crying in a corner of the church; and many more.
It was like we were shown everyday life in this church decades ago.
「Yada yada! What’s going on here~?」(Rozelia)
Rozelia pointed to the ghosts with an excited expression on her face.
Unlike Cecil, she wasn’t afraid of ghosts at all, instead, she looked like she was having fun for some reason.
「HIIIIIIIIIIIIYYYYー！！！ G, G, Goddess of Sword, Z-Zodia-sama, please save us…! I promise I will start eating blue paprikas I hate from now on, so please…!」(Cecil)
On the other hand, Cecil was shivering and crying like a baby. She fell off the chair while burying her head in her arms and shaking.
She must be very scared now that the real ghosts have appeared.
However, the ghosts didn’t care about Cecil. They were acting the same as when they were alive.
「They’re ignoring us, huh?」(Rozelia)
「It seems so… but don’t you think this situation is similar to the story you told last night…?」(Hanna)
「Right!? I think so too! This is awesome!」(Rozelia)
Ugh… why is she so excited…?
In Rozelia’s story, the ghosts indeed ignored the adventurers who visited Regenberg.
…Except for the ghost of a girl with a cursed mirror…
『ーーDear living people, welcome…』(girl ghost)
There she is…
Before I knew it, a girl with a hood covering her eyes appeared out of nowhere.
She was a little taller than me, and she was holding an eerie mirror with a skull frame in front of her chest.
『This is the city of the dead. Living beings are not allowed here. If you want to stay, please take a look into this mirror.』(girl ghost)
The girl said the exact same line as in the ghost story last night.
After she said that, she walked slowly toward Cecil, who was shaking on the floor while holding her head, looking extremely defenseless.
「Cecil, it’s dangerous over there! Come here!」(Hanna)
「Aaaー! Aaaaー! I don’t wanna hear anything! I don’t wanna see anythingー!」(Cecil)
Cecil was closing her eyes and ears, trying to escape from reality.
She wouldn’t look into the mirror if she kept closing her eyes, so I didn’t think I had to worry, but still… She is a scaredy-cat after all…
If I grabbed her shoulder, she would probably jump in surprise and accidentally look into the mirror.
However, if I forced her to stand up, I felt like she would resist. Her body was shaking so hard, so I didn’t think she would be able to walk on her own either.
I wish I could do something with the girl ghost, but honestly, I’m a little scared too…
I wasn’t afraid of ghosts at all just a while ago, but now that I could see them clearly, I couldn’t help but feel a little scared.
Perhaps I wasn’t afraid because I couldn’t see them anyway, but now it’s different.
「Hanna, can you try hitting that girl with your hammer?」(Rozelia)
「Huh?」(Hanna)
When I was starting to shiver, Rozelia asked me an unreasonable favor.
Is she crazy!? Well, I know she’s crazy, but… can we even hit ghosts!?
「No! What if she possesses me the moment I attack!? Besides, I don’t have any skills that work on ghosts!」(Hanna)
「Ahaha! You don’t need to use skills. Just try to hit her.」(Rozelia)
「Why does it have to be me!? Why don’t you do it!?」(Hanna)
「Because I want to see Hanna in action~☆」(Rozelia)
After she said that, she started pushing my back toward the girl ghost.
Of course, I can resist if I want, but if I stubbornly refuse, she might think that I’m scared and would definitely make fun of me.
I don’t want to be on the same level as Cecil who was in a pathetic condition right now.
I would rather do what Rozelia said than be looked down on.
「Okay, okay! I just have to hit her, right!? Fine, I’ll do it!」(Hanna)
「Hyuu~ Hyuu~ That’s Hanna for you!」(Rozelia)
Khh! She’s really annoying!
While regretting tagging along with these two for hundreds of times, I turned to the girl with the hood.
「ーーBlunt Weapon Skill :【Blunt Dash】! 」(Hanna)
ーDon!
I immediately dashed with all my might, instantly closing the gap between me and the girl.
Actually, the shoes I’m wearing now are made of steel just like the dance shoes I wore at the Moon Viewing Party. Therefore, they are considered as blunt weapons.
Thanks to the special dance training with Slad-san and thanks to the intense battle against Doubt at that time, I got a high-speed movement skill that I can use with steel shoes.
「Blunt Weapon Skill :【Heavy Smash】! 」(Hanna)
With the momentum from the high-speed dash, I swung my hammer to the girl with all my strength.
Howeverー
ーWhoosh!
ーWhat I hit was just the air… I didn’t feel like hitting anything…
But, I wasn’t thinking like “I knew it! Ghosts can’t be hit”, because… my hammer didn’t pass through the body of the girl ghost. She quickly stepped back before I swung my hammer.
Yes, she ‘dodged’ my attack.
She is a ghost, yet she dodged a physical attack. Why?
「Ahaha! I knew it! My decision to take Hanna with us is correct~☆」(Rozelia)
Rozelia clapped her hands and laughed as if she was expecting this.
「Eh? What do you mean?」(Hanna)
「It’s because~ Hanna, you can see them, right? I mean these “ghosts”.」(Rozelia)
「Of course I can see them! My sense for supernatural things has just awakened after all!」(Hanna)
「No, no, no. Hanna, if you can see them, that means they’re not ghosts.」(Rozelia)
「…….Eh? What kind of logic is that? So you wanna say that I’m still insensitive to supernatural things!?」(Hanna)
「Exactly~! No matter how strong you have become, Hanna, insensitiveness is your nature, right? So there’s no way you can see ghosts~」(Rozelia)
「Huh…? Then, what are they!?」(Hanna)